are rebuilt alternators good?

[joekingcorvette]

My Corvette is making a squeaking noise on start up and lately it makes the noise almost all the time. It appears to be the alternator. A rebuilt is about $180.00 with the core trade in. Are the rebuilt alternators any good? I don't really want to pay $400 for a GM one which is shot at 71,000 miles but I don't want something that lasts a short time either.

 

[Malo83]

Buy the lifetime warranty alternators, have good luck with mine, bought one from Kragens years ago, when it finally gave up took it back to O'Reillys and they gave me a new one no questions, hang on to the receipt.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Are you sure it's not the belt, or a tensioner pulley?

 

[Ed_Flecko]

Are you sure it's not the belt, or a tensioner pulley?

That's what I was thinking!

Take the alternator belt off, start the car, and see if the squeaking goes away before buying a new alternator!

Ed

 

[Carmudgeon]

That's what I was thinking!

Take the alternator belt off, start the car, and see if the squeaking goes away before buying a new alternator!

Don't even have to do that as a first step. Only need a squirt bottle.

 

[Nick1994]

If you replace it, get it rebuilt from a local shop or buy one from a local rebuild shop.

I did it with my Jeep the other year when it needed both a starter and alternator. They rebuild them themselves and keep inventory on hand. Here's an example of who I used, can probably find one local to you.

Link

 

[benjy]

in the past Napa pro series rebuilds were great! TRIED 3 thats 3!!! off the shelf rebuilt for my 56 chev, all had less than full output when tested + were cheaper, one NAPA PRO was on the car when i sold it!! glad it was an EZE install!!

 

[zzyzzx]

are rebuilt alternators good?

 

[Chris142]

in the past Napa pro series rebuilds were great! TRIED 3 thats 3!!! off the shelf rebuilt for my 56 chev, all had less than full output when tested + were cheaper, one NAPA PRO was on the car when i sold it!! glad it was an EZE install!!

Napa's rebuilt starters and alternators have really gone down hill. Shops here will not use one as they are a guaranteed comeback.

 

[zzyzzx]

Napa's rebuilt starters and alternators have really gone down hill. Shops here will not use one as they are a guaranteed comeback.

Yeah, returned one for warranty repair, and they accepted my 11 year old receipt. But had to go through 3 of their rebuilt ones to find one that wasn't too bad. I also hate they way all rebuilt parts are painted now, instead of cleaned properly.

 

[jhs914]

If you replace it, get it rebuilt from a local shop or buy one from a local rebuild shop.

I did it with my Jeep the other year when it needed both a starter and alternator. They rebuild them themselves and keep inventory on hand. Here's an example of who I used, can probably find one local to you.

Link

This. If you have a local alternator/generator rebuild shop and can do without the car while the alternator is being rebuilt, that is always the best bet. Those kind of guys know what they are doing and will replace any worn or defective parts and give you back a good as new OEM alternator. The corner parts store "rebuilt" ones are usually hit or miss. You have a warranty but may have to keep returning them until you get a good one.

 

[ragtoplvr]

Napa's rebuilt starters and alternators have really gone down hill. Shops here will not use one as they are a guaranteed comeback.

No business can survive on a 100% warranty failure rate.

I do not know about NAPA specifically. Most Chain buyers place great importance on price. This does push the reman manufacturer to reuse everything possible, this is usually a good thing. They do have to honor warranty’s, so their quality is pretty good. Most of the alternators these days failed from dirt, oil or wore out. They need slip ring replaced, new brushes, maybe a new rectifier and or regulator and bearings. You will have china as country of origin in rectifier, regulator, brushes, slip ring and bearing. OEM these days usually good for over 150K miles. By that time over 95% of the customers do not need a over 150K life potential alternator. The china parts will last for quite a few miles, but not as long as OEM. The cost is very much lower.

You can also get a all new made in china unit for the same cost, some of them are poor, as how can you return for warranty. Most however are as good as a reman using china repair parts.

As to the squeak. You do not tell us the year of your corvette, Many new alternators use a clutch pulley and this is often a weak link. Replacing a clutch pulley with a solid pulley causes squeaks. A work clutch pulley causes squeaks. A worn tensioner causes squeaks. A worn belt causes squeaks. You have to diagnose the problem.

Good luck

 

[zzyzzx]

Alternators are often easily repaired. I've done it many times.

 

[Duffyjr]

I've had good luck with a Duralast lifetime in my Sierra, put it in in August 2015. Cost so far, $20 a year.

 

[diyjake]

Rebuilt by local shop is always best.

 

[Dino01]

Depends, I had to put a reman Denso in my sig RX350 at 60k miles when the original bit the dust way too early and it’s been fine for the last 30k, but Denso is the OEM and I trust them and purchased from a trusted vendor so I knew it was a Denso remaned by Denso. Lexus dealer sells the exact same thing for 4x the price, reman Denso.

I think my original going belly up so early was an rare and unlucky hiccup. Not sure I’d use a parts store brand, but maybe they’re GTG, I just don’t know

 

[Silver]

I just bought an alternator. I read a good bit. My overall conclusion is rebuilt alternators are crap unless they're OEM rebuilt/refurbished/reconditoned whatever. Those are considered on par with a decent brand new alternator (not the dirt cheap 'new' alternators). I ended up going with an AAP Carquest new unit. They seem to have a better reputation than other store brands.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Whether a reman alternator is any good depends on how it failed, and the mood/capability of the person who was tasked with replacing/repairing the failure mode.

I've use a lifetime warranty on an alternator many times, sometimes returning the latest one within weeks. They finally lost all records of me having ever purchased an alternator from them, and when it failed, I had incentive to open it up and inspect.

But in the meantime I bought a new made in Malaysia alternator whose hot idle speed performance was disappointing and failed to meet its max rating too.

When I inspected the failed unit, The brushes were not aligned properly with the slip rings.

more here:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/remanufactured-alternator-brush-alignment.322555/

The failed reman is now back in service, the 'new' one is in a box after 7 months of use.
Honestly the lifetime warranty kept me from ever inspecting the internals. If I had previously familiarized myself with the internals, I could have fixed the original in a few hours, and not bought the new one. Hindsight and all, but I learned a lot.

 

[Dave9]

I get rebuilt Duralast Gold (lifetime warranty) for older vehicles and haven't had significant problems, but anything less than 10 years old I'll spring for new major brand... not necessarily (and usually not since it failed within 10 yrs) the OEM brand.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Rebuilts are a crap shoot. Plus they seem to put out a little less voltage than stockers.
Some only last a year; most should be good for longer.

Good luck.